Page 67 of Starside

I take another step—and a scream sounds to my side, sending me stumbling forward in shock.

My knees hit the stairs, pain spiraling up my legs. I turn toward the noise, just in time to see a blur of color. It’s followed by a thud.

Another challenger who didn’t get picked.

Pulse racing, I straighten and keep climbing. The screams happen every few hours. I don’t look again. I keep my gaze on the next stair, and my hand against the trunk, leaning part of my weight against it.

Sweat spills a river down my back as the heat intensifies, then fades away. At least the rain didn’t reach these steps. I would have slipped off hours ago. My worn boots manage to hold on. My stomach grumbles, but I ignore it. My throat is dry, but I’m used to that.

I just keep climbing.

The melodic screeches above, from winged creatures, get louder, and that’s how I know we’re getting close. I make it a few more steps, before finally taking a break, bracing my palm against the bark, breathing heavily.

Fuck. If I didn’t already hate stairs from my near-death encounter yesterday … I despise them even more now. My calves burn. My lungs feel like they’re shriveling up. I glance to my side and see we’ve reached the thick, higher branches. Finally.

I risk a look over my shoulder. Zane’s leaning against his knees, shaking his head. His gaze flicks up to mine. “Stairs suck, don’t they?”

“They really fucking do,” I say, and he cracks a smile.

I almost smile back.

But that’s when I see movement in the foliage in the closest branch. A rustle, then …

Eyes. Blinking back at me.

“Zane—”

“I see them.”

Slowly, a creature creeps forward, out of the shadows of the leaves … and my shoulders melt. Oh. It’s just a small, rounded fuzzy animal with big, sad eyes. It looks at us curiously.

Cute. I turn back around, break over. I take another step.

And the circle of fur launches itself at me, mouth open, revealing razor-sharp teeth.

Shit. I move at the last moment, and it hits the trunk. It slides down, before unveiling claws that find purchase, carving lines into the thick wood. It turns to look at me in a flash, growling.

“Really?” I yell. “The climbing wasn’t hard enough?”

I bolt up the steps, Zane at my heels. Another one launches itself, just missing my face. Its jaw snaps, and I stumble to the side before finding my footing again.

There’s a missing step ahead. I jump over it, teetering, barely dodging another set of flying teeth. I turn to warn Zane.

But he’s looking at the creatures. He misses the step, loses his balance—

And falls over the edge.

NO.

I lunge forward.

And catch his hand. He nearly pulls me over the side with him, but I manage to dig my sword into the stairs, rooting us.

“Don’t let go,” Zane says, dark eyes wide.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” I say through my teeth. My shoulder screams. My arm is at risk of getting pulled out of its socket.

Then one of the creatures leaps from the branches, and bites Zane’s shoulder, teeth going right through muscle.